Defense Official Outlines Possible Cuts

By Rachel Christiansen

Dr. Ashton Carter, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, highlighted programs the Pentagon can focus on in the ongoing efforts to rein in Defense Spending during an appearance Wednesday before the Heritage Foundation.

According to Carter, the U.S. could trim its budget by cutting the Zumwalt-class destroyers (DDG), the presidential helicopter, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and several other systems operations. 

Acquisition, Carter said, is only a fraction of a cost, whereas sustaining the equipment over the years accounts for 70 percent of the total program costs.  

Carter admitted that the DoD has to pay their part in keeping the federal deficit in control, acknowledging “we’re certainly not going to have the ever increasing budget of the post 9/11 decade.”

“We cannot, as [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates says, be exempt from efforts to bring the federal budget under control,” Carter noted.

Carter added that his first priority is maintaining the country’s ongoing military operations overseas, and praised the forces in Libya for carrying out their assigned duties.